1. Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to generating a test suite to test support for routines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Relational DataBase Management System (RDBMS) software may use a Structured Query Language (SQL) interface. The SQL interface has evolved into a standard language for RDBMS software and has been adopted as such by both the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Standards Organization (ISO).
A routine (e.g., a stored procedure, a user-defined scalar function or a table function) can embed one or more SQL statements to access a database, manipulate parameter values, invoke other routines, and/or return scalar or tabular results. In addition, a vendor of a product may support a variety of languages that interface an application to a database engine (such as an RDBMS) and also tolerate routine invocation across languages.
A test suite may be described as a collection of tests or as a collective term for subtests that differ in focus. A test suite may be used to validate a computer program by exercising the functionality of the computer program through an interface and under conditions that may simulate the use of that computer program in production. Validating may include evaluating one or more aspects of the computer program or checking a condition, such as the functioning, accuracy or correctness of the computer program. In the case of a test suite that tests routines, the test coverage may include variation in the content and structure of the routines and in combinations of routines, including combinations that are ordered hierarchically. This results in a large collection of test cases that are expensive to create and maintain manually. That is, the quantitative and qualitative demands on a test suite generator make it difficult to use a manual solution, especially given the short duration between adding a feature to a database product and the start of the test cycle for that feature.
Thus, there is a need in the art for generating a test suite to test support for routines.